Any Time, Any Place
by Blue Bongo
Summary: At Christmas, Looker is sent to Snowpoint City to investigate an attack on the gym leader. Little does he know what he will find upon arrival, a conspiracy that will shake the entire Sinnoh region. Oneshot.


Any Time, Any Place.

* * *

With the bitter wind rushing through the alleys of the small city high up in the Sinnoh mountains, howling into the crevices between buildings, the woman tearing through the darkest of nights was barely aware of the temperature. Living at this altitude had dulled her senses to the freezing defines of the climate, giving her an advantage over those that didn't come from around this general area. But, the fear etched upon her face told its entire story to anyone who would have seen her. Her bare feet left deep footprints in the laid snow, the soles chilled to the bone at the touch, the flakes still cascading down onto her skin, as she ran for her life. Her onyx black hair, still slightly soaked from the shower she had taken earlier clung to her face in bedraggled clumps, her brown eyes filled with fear. The buildings around her in the alley left no light within the open aired tunnel, making her feel even more defenceless than before, as she tore through the dark of night, trying to escape from the figure pursuing her into the unknown. At the best of times, she would have known the entire planning layout of Snowpoint City, been able to move through it blindfolded. Yet, in her blind panic everything seemed to fade away. Only the need to flee. The basic human urge, harvested since the dawn of time.

Throwing herself towards the exit, the raven haired girl finally broke free of the confines, was out of the seemingly never ending corral of passageways hidden behind the buildings. Momentary relief rushed across her entire being as she burst out into the main street, Flake Street. Almost true to its name, the snow was much heavier here. As it came down in its droves, it was enough to make even her shiver.

Even though she knew the danger wasn't over, Candice Suzuna had never been so happy to see streetlights. The entire area was filled with chilled residents celebrating the upcoming holiday, various bottles of alcoholic drinks on show. Her mind rushing back into gear, registering now where she was, the gym leader could see now that she was more or less out of the woods. Not that there were any woods around here, the cold weather offering very little life to the possible chances of a copse surviving. Climbing down the mountain, there might be some occasional trees to mark out the path, but those particulars ones had been there for as long as she had known. Hardiest woodland out there.

But, she thought, breaking into a jog towards the crowds. Not the ideal time to think about the natural flora of the area. Not when the maniac who had broken into her apartment was still probably on her tail. Fortunately, she had just got out of the shower and...

Realising that she didn't want to think about it just yet, Candice brought her eyes over to the bar, the place where all the merrymakers were currently standing. Some of them were singing in tuneless baritones.

_"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"_

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but grin at the irony of the song choice. Considering where they were.

Shooting a glance back in the direction she had come, the dark figure was stood at the end of the alley now fifty feet behind her. Wearing all black, including a ski mask, a piece of perfectly acceptable in these types of climbs, his general manner of standing told her that he was annoyed at the way she had managed to escape him. Moving even faster towards the crowd, ready to start running again if need be. Before he could reach the spot where she was now, she'd be in the crowds away from him. Still looking back, she could see him crack a fist again the dark walls before vanish away into the night.

Immensely relieved, she carried on moving, ready to find some warmth at last.

* * *

As she pushed the door to The Abomasnow Arms open, her frozen hands touching against the warm metal, Candice couldn't wait to hit the warmth of the pub. Already, she had gotten some strange looks from the men outside...

It's not every day that the local gym leader walks by wearing nothing but a dressing gown in the middle of a snow storm. Although, given how much some of them drank, they might see that every night. The thought managed to drag a smile across her mouth, no matter how wry it might have seemed. Who was she to judge them for enjoying the festive period. And given that their presence might have convinced her attacker to back off, she wasn't going to look this gift Ponyta in the mouth.

Finally, the heavy door swung open, and, she instantly felt the warmth strike her, a hammer blow to her body. Even at this early stage, her frozen hair began to defrost into its normal texture, trickles of water starting to dribble down her face. A roaring fire in the corner the source, undoubtedly one of the main attractions of this place. In the coldest parts of Snowpoint City, the warmth offered by a open fire was a great commodity. Other than, there was the calming family atmosphere, the relaxing decor and the friendly staff, demonstrated quite ably by the girl stood behind the bar.

Looks ran to her, the less inebriated denizens of the place looking to her with surprise. Surprise and intrigue at her sudden dishevelled appearance.

Working behind the bar, the red haired girl, looked over to her. An old friend, Zoey Nozomi, the daughter of the couple who owned The Abomasnow Arms. Instantly, the concern was in her eyes, the mouth opening up to speak.

Yet, they were empty. Dead of sound. Only the slightest movements of the lips was what she could see, her vision rapidly blurring from the previously frozen water in her hair rushing down into her eyes. Stinging slightly, as she felt her knees go weak.

The last thing that she remembered before collapsing down to the cold stone ground...

* * *

_"And in latest breaking news, President Levan has said that anyone who sets out to destabilise the entire region would be greatly underestimating both the will and the desire of every single person in Sinnoh. Underestimating the pride that they hold in their region. Strong words, if slightly surprising given how quickly they come after the theft of the Dugtrio Inductor nearly three months ago. Those of you who don't recall this, the subterranean drill was snatched right from the demonstration in front of a barrage of high class Sinnoh dignitaries."_

"Switch the damn radio off!"

It hadn't been the polished voice of the newscaster who had awoken him from his drowzy daze, rather the barking command of his superior officer. Still not wanting to awake yet, he let out a groan. A sleepy groan of warning, one that told he wasn't ready to break free of his slumber yet.

"Jacques, get off your damn ass and wake up!"

No sense of a joke in the sharp warning, finally jerking his eyes open, Jacques Looker glanced over to the disturbance, stretching his arms out to let them recover as he did so. It was harder than it sounded in the cramped office, the air still stale with the smell of old cigarette smoke. Full ashtrays were still around, the cleaner not having had the chance to come around with him still in the room. The half finished report that he had been working on still laid on the desk, staring impassively up at the faded white ceiling. In past times, a particularly adventurous officer had decided to hurl pencils up at the sensitive surface, some remnants still there. All the walls weren't in much of a better condition, the paint chipped away to show a mixture of yellow and white.

"Did I fall asleep again at my desk?" he said, rubbing at tired eyes. "So disconcerting that would be for me."

Shaking her head, Rebecca DeSantos, sat down across the desk from him. Even though she wasn't displaying any of the traditional characteristics, no relaxed body language, no slackening of the mouth in the corners, he could tell that she was amused by the way he had dropped off to sleep.

"Hey, we all need to sleep sometime," she replied, pushing a file across the desk to him. One in a manila coloured packet, the traditional stamp of 'Eyes Only' on the front. "In this case, you can sleep on your way to Snowpoint City."

Suppressing the groan this time, Looker leaned forward to grab up the file. Snapping it open, his eyes started to instantly absorb the details going on. A picture of the Snowpoint City gym leader, Candice Suzuna, plus a basic police report. Only skimming his eyes across the details at first, he looked up to his superior to get her opinion on the subject.

"So, what have we got?"

"Attacked in her home about eight pm. Managed to get away, headed straight to a crowded place where she lost her attacker. The Pokemon league want answers right now. They're insisting that we send somebody out there to find out why it happened. You're expected down in TechOps in ten minutes, taking a chopper over there in thirty."

"And, drawing that short straw, I think, is what happened to me?""Exactly," DeSantos said, shaking her head. "Sorry about the entire thing. Sending you away on duty over Christmas. At least it shouldn't be a tough assignment for you. Just do a bit of poking around, make your report and leave."

Looker shrugged.

"I have to do the duty I am paid for," he replied. "Although the timing is quite inconvenient, I will do this to my abilities best."

It was the turn of DeSantos to shrug apologetically.

"At last you get a white Christmas. The Snowpoint City kind. Happens every day of the damn year."

* * *

The TechOps lab was a place that Looker always enjoyed visiting, no matter what the time of year, or what the circumstances. A large warehouse sized room down underneath the main International Police offices in each region, staffed with several excellent technicians who created the various little gadgets that the field operatives needed in the course of duty. Each of the International Police headquarters were held in the largest cities of the regions, Saffron, Goldenrod, Lilycove and Jubilife. Nondescript office buildings, hiding surprises both within their structures and below them. Somewhere, a main technician worked upon the concepts of the gadgets, designing them, sorting out the bugs to remove them, before sending the blueprints around the labs to be reproduced in mass quantities. Already, some of them were in ready use, having been designated as standard issue. Looker's thoughts ran to his belt, ordinary looking on the surface but in reality holding a grappling hook backed by a hundred feet of steel cable. Simple, but effective. And then, there was his watch. When combined with a special homing beacon, he could track whatever he wanted using the LED surface of the digital face.

Smelling smoke as he stepped out in the large room, the elevator doors having swept open in front of him, he instantly saw the source a small fire burning in the centre of the area, someone having set fire to the table.

"I know it's cold outside," he said, with a smile. Looking up at him, Sykes rolled his eyes angrily. Looker had known Brian Sykes for a few years while working in Sinnoh, and although he was fairly competent when it came to building interesting devices, the blond haired man in his middle ages really did have a short fuse at times. Usually when he was working.

"If you must know," he snapped. "Then, we can't quite get the amount of petroleum correct in this."

Reaching down under the table, Sykes withdrew a small bottle to place down on the wooden surface, the old Black Persian label still readable despite the faded writing.

"Is this something that I really want to know about?" Looker wondered, seeing the flash of annoyance race out across Syke's face. Within moments, he had reached down next to the table to bring up a fire extinguisher, aiming it at the flames. Pushing down upon the nozzle, the lab technician forcefully sprayed the small fires with water, instantly putting them out within seconds. Only a series of small black marks remained, forming a cross shaped pattern across the mouldy green surface.

"Not really, no," he said, shaking his head. "It's nothing to concern yourself with. What do you want, anyway?"

Looker sighed. Even though he was competent, Sykes could be a chore to deal with at times. The slightest hint of sarcasm towards him, and he would refuse to work at all.

"Come down for some equipment," Looker replied. "Heading to Snowpoint City."

"Ah yes," Sykes said, kicking something down underneath the table. "I remember. Well, you'll be wanting the winter collection."

"You made a collection for the winter?"

"We've got it all. Summer, fall, spring. Seemed only natural as the next progression."

As he spoke, Sykes started to make his way behind a stack of shelves, coming back moments later with a briefcase. One made of a rich black vinyl, which he held in one hand. In the other, he held a black suit carrier, quickly placing them both down on the scorched work bench.

"Your standard issue tundra equipment," Sykes explained, pulling down on the zip of the carrier, revealing a light green ski jacket. "Inflatable ski jacket, pull down on this..."

He gestured to a pocket on the right breast of the coat, tapping his finger down into the folds of it.

"And, should you get trapped in an avalanche, then you will instantly be cocooned by an inflatable ball of rubber, completely resistant to the cold. You should be completely safe in there. And, the entire coat is filled with a thermal lining, so you won't die of hypothermia while wearing it."

"That's handy."

"I like to think so," Sykes remarked, his hands moving sharply to zip the carrier back up. Soon, he was moving back over to the briefcase, where his full attention now was. His dextrous fingers ran across the dials, opening it up with ease.

Pulling it open, he began to take out the items one by one, handing them over to Looker who looked at them. First, he brought up a small silver tube, three even smaller holes in the surface.

"Sonic whistle," Sykes explained. "Since we're going on the thought train of avalanches at this point, then I'll tell you that this can, when blown in the correct places, bring down the house. Should you be pursued by enemies that you can't shake, you blow this and get the chance to escape. Combined with your ski jacket and..."

"Do you have anything not involving the collapsing of a load of snow down on top of me?"

Choosing not to answer the question, Sykes continued to run through his demonstrations with sudden affection in his voice, something that Looker had never noticed before. It continued as he leaned down under the desk, bringing out a pair of seemingly normal black shoes. Not too dissimilar to the pair that he was already wearing.

"These are some of our proudest achievements in the lab," he explained, turning the heels around to show Looker. "Push down this button like so…"

He pushed down on a hidden button in the heel, something instantly emerging down on the under soles. Twisting it over, Looker could see several large metallic spikes pointing out into the air.

"Will completely moor you in the thickest of ice. Useful as a life saving device. Gives you a great sense of style, and the soles are completely waterproof. So, you might get some strange looks but…"

Letting the sentence hang, Sykes slid the item across the table, before Next bringing out a pair of dark goggles, something that looked vaguely familiar to him. With their black lenses, they made an interesting sight.

"Looks like your standard issue snow goggles. Used to keep snow out of your eyes. But, when you use this button on the side…"

Gesturing to the small indent on the side of the plastic lens, Sykes continued to talk him through it.

"Turns into a thermal imaging device. Useful if you need to track someone through a snow storm. You can keep track of them through this device."

"I see," Looker replied, running his hand through his jet black hair as he spoke, suppressing a tired yawn. Only fifteen minutes ago, he'd been asleep at his desk. "So, no X-ray functions on them?"

"New tracking device," Sykes continued, taking out the small metallic square and holding it up to the light. "Automatically links to the frequency in your watch, attracting itself over to it. Again, you can use it in pursuing your foe."

Clearing his throat, he dropped it back into the leather case, going over for the next item. Quickly bringing it out to the observing Looker.

"I don't suppose you have some exploding snowballs," he remarked, looking over to Sykes. "Just in case I don't need to pursue a foe. What about if I need to splatter one over the snow?"

"Yeah, try not to do that," Sykes said, his already weak sense of humour fading away into nothing. "We're not allowed to make lethal gadgets any more. Not after Radzinsky tried to smuggle that sword in a cane through customs. And the exploding milk bottles that were found outside the senior citizens home. And, the…"

"I get the idea."

"Anyway, senior management decided that only non lethal gadgets are able to be made now. It's inconvenient for field agents, but the repercussions of what would happen if they were taken over by enemy forces are too great. Can't say that I disagreed with them. We're currently looking at every day items that can deliver huge jolts of electricity. Enough to stun, rather than kill. We have been working on car keys that do so, but we might move out to cell phones in the immediate future, or possibly…"

Thinking for a moment, Sykes reached out over to a shelf behind him, grabbing up a set of car keys on a ring. The fob above it was larger than normal, a black colour with two buttons on it. One red and one yellow.

"Well, they won't actually start a specific car," he admitted, looking slightly sheepish. "But, push down on this button and whatever the metal part is pointing at will get a nasty shock. Pun intended. The metal acts as a powering rod."

He grinned, holding it up to the light to show a second button.

"And, just for good effect, we threw in a lock pick. Should open ninety two percent of the worlds locks. Take one along, we could use it being tested in the field. And, since I'm such a good guy, there's also a pound of plastic explosive in there. Handy if you need to cause a distracting bang. Activate by pushing these two buttons down at the same time, like so. Standard ten second timer. It's also magnetic, so you don't have to worry about that."

Catching the item thrown to him, Looker couldn't help but be amused by the practicality of some of them items.

"How much battery power does that take up?" he asked, smiling slightly as Sykes rolled his eyes at the bad pun.

"Grow up, Looker," he said, shaking his head. "Now, hurry up and get them packed before you miss your chopper up there," Sykes continued, sliding them over the bench towards him. "I don't think DeSantos would be too impressed if you did that. Now, before I forget, have a nice Christmas."

Looker was surprised. He hadn't thought that Sykes appreciated the notion of the festive season. But, as he gave the lab one final look around, he saw some strands of mistletoe up in the corner of the room.

"You like that plant?" he asked, surprised.

Looking up with intrigue, Sykes followed the gaze over to the item in the corner.

"Actually…" he said, reaching down into his pocket. "A little something that we're working on."

Watching with interest, Looker saw Sykes remove a small rubber ball from the pocket of his lab coat. Taking aim, the technician brought his arm back, before hurling the item forward towards the mistletoe.

The moment it reached within a few millimetres of the green strands, the plant shot up, the hissing sound of a gas rushing out.

"Incapacitating," Sykes said, proudly. "Takes 'em down and we can swoop in to grab them."

"Well, remind me never to kiss anyone in here," Looker deadpanned. "Although, if you have any of your lab assistants around…"

"Get out!"

Grinning at the way he had managed to crawl under Sykes' skin, Looker made his way over towards the elevator again, holding his new equipment within his hands.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride up here, Johnny," Looker said, his eyes looking over to the pilot. The helicopter had been pretty prompt in its arrival, just as DeSantos had promised. Unfortunately for him, the pilot had proved to be pretty chatty, not allowing him the chance to get much sleep. Instead, his thoughts had been drawn by the case notes that he had ran over, examining them to the fullest possible extent.

"Ah, I wanted to get it out of the way as quickly as possible," Johnny replied, shaking his head. He managed to shoot a look back over to his passenger. "Want to get back to my family before Christmas. Don't envy you being stuck up here."

Looking down to the snow covered paths below, he could see a surprising amount of activity. Even in the darkness, the white backdrop of the snow covered ground offered a surprising amount of light, more than he would have thought possible. The occasional skier charging down the mountain, a sport that he had never got the point of. Added to that, as they continued to fly, the rotors rumbling through the cold air, he could see a few snow mobiles rushing down across the ground. Normally, the light snow would make the travelling difficult, but Johnny Cameron was undoubtedly the best pilot in the Sinnoh department of the International Police. He laughed in the face of snow, easily manoeuvring his machine through the white haze. Looker had no hesitation in trusting his life to the pilot in this instance.

"At least I'll be seeing the snow," Looker said, making what he knew was a weak argument.

"Who cares," Cameron shot back. "I'll survive without it."

Not having a comeback to that, Looker settled back into his seat, lowering his eyes down to the blue snow mobiles below them, the machines buzzing somewhere else.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, all the notions of the case that were troubling, he allowed his eyes to slowly shut. It had been a long day.

* * *

"Watch out, you slack son of a bitch!"

The harshly snapped warning made the white coated grunt hesitate in his duty, throwing the snow mobile into a jerking halt. As the treads let out a screech before dying, he felt the impact from the sudden stop raking out through his partially frostbitten body. Already moving through the small ice tunnel, his nerves were frayed already in making him nervous. At the wheel of the snow mobile, a slight flash of refracted sunlight across the snow had brought a start out of his vision, making him jerk the machine to the side. Nearly hitting the edges of the wall. The piece of machinery, a light grey box strapped to the back of the transport, had nearly jerked free of its restraints. Already, the boss was having outraged visions of it smashing down onto the ice, something that was mirrored in his body language.

"That thing," his boss continued, striding over to him, the fury engraved upon his fine features. "Is worth more than a thousand of you. So, if you break it…"

He let the threat hang, causing the driver of the snowmobile to tremble in worry.

"Now, on that note," he said, still growling slightly in anger. "Get it through there. I want it ready in the next eight hours."

As the snow mobile started to purr again through the tunnels, leaving him alone near the entrance, David Baraja couldn't help but lose his annoyed exterior, the expression slowly becoming replaced with a sharp smile.

"Just in time to give Sinnoh a Christmas they'll always remember," he said, the words soft in the expanses of the tunnel.

"Sir!"

Baraja was interrupted in his thoughts, by the sound of another one of his grunts arriving up to him in a hurry.

"What do you have to report?" he said, sounding slightly irked at being disturbed. Amongst other things, he hated being disturbed during his own time. A trait that made the other ruling members think of him as narcissistic, yet he didn't care.

"I'm afraid to report that the guys we sent to Snowpoint City didn't manage to grab the gym leader."

Rounding out on the speaker, Baraja couldn't miss the sense of fear being given off by the man in front of him. In fact, he was a few inches away from cowering in sheer terror.

"I give you one simple order," he said, his voice remaining calm and composed. "One simple order. And, you blow it."

"I apologise…" the henchman started to say, before being harshly interrupted.

"I don't care about your apologies," Baraja snapped, his left hand going down to the knife at his waist. "Now, you can either stay here cowering in fear and lose your hand. Or, you can go and get Iron Fang for me. If you want something done right…"

Before he could finish the sentence, the failed henchman had vanished away down the tunnel.

"Iron Fang," Baraja said, softly. "I almost pity the poor bitch when he gets his hands on her."

With those words, he turned tail to instantly head out down the tunnel.

* * *

"Brrrrr!"

It was only a small word, but as he stepped out onto the snow covered helipad, Looker meant every syllable. He could feel the snow crunching away underneath the soles of his shoes, the harsh frigid wind raking against his face.

Having still been in Sinnoh after following up on an investigation into the possible reconstruction of Team Galactic, he hadn't thought that he would have been sent up here quite so soon again. In fact, by now he had expected to be on the boat back towards home. Not exploring the frozen deserts of Snowpoint City.

Slamming the door shut behind him, his ears registering the sound of the chopper starting to ascend up into the snowy skies, Looker started to make it down the small set of steps towards the ground, a small trail marked out by a set of snow covered railings the only noticeable way to get down into the main part of the city.

Already attired in his TechOp equipment, the light green ski jacket, a pair of black pants and the casual shoes that Sykes had given him, the International Police agent made the conscious decision that he was going to ensure that he sent a bottle of Machampagne to the lab technician once the mission was over. While his face was cold against the snow, the parts of his body covered by the jacket were incredibly comfortable.

Smiling at the warmth, something that he wouldn't have thought on first impressions he would be getting out here, Looker started to take the walk down towards the main city.

* * *

His memories, the thoughts of running through the mission briefing in the helicopter, instantly recalled the name of the place that he could see as he strode down Flake Street. From the helipad at the apex of the city, it had been a short ten minute walk down to here, and the thermal jacket was still holding up well. Luckily, the snow on the ground was firm, devoid of any traces of ice within the cold powdery material.

The Abomasnow Arms, he thought, his eyes raising up to the sign outside the bar. Bingo, I'll check this place out. Maybe I can get some information from here, someone was bound to have seen what happened.

* * *

Courtesy of the roaring fire in the corner of the main room of the bar, the heat instantly struck him like a furnace. He could instantly feel the sweat start to pour down his back, his first thought to remove the thermal jacket.

He could have taken a few strange looks as he swung the coat over one of the hooks by the door. Yet, the few patrons within the building ignored him, instead choosing to concentrate on their drinks. Looking around, he could see that there was an interesting mixture of beverages being consumed around the place, some with coffee, some drinking the more popular Black Persian Beer. However, he could sense a feeling of unrest, like he was intruding in on them.

Then again, Looker thought, for all they know, I'm just a wandering trainer passing through.

Keeping that façade up, he slowly continued over towards the bar, a red haired girl, possibly in her late teens or early twenties behind the counter.

"Can I help you," she said, looking up to him, interest in her sparkling blue eyes as he approached her.

"Well, it's something I'm sure you can do, yes," Looker said, shrugging casually. "But, I'll start with a Black Persian. Shaken but not spilt."

A small grin flashed across her mouth at the lame joke, the slight action telling him that he had managed to break the ice at least slightly. He could see her bend down to bring a chilled bottle out from underneath the bar, could hear the top cracking open.

"That'll be four dollars," she said, looking over to him as she placed it down onto the polished wooden surface.

Nodding, Looker brought out his wallet, removing a few notes from within the confines of the leather case. He watched her take them from him, count them out before moving over to the till.

"Heard there was something that happened here recently," he said, casually looking over to her. "You know anything about that?"

There was definitely a reaction from her at the words, subtle as though it may have been. As she raised her head up to look at him, he could sense the stiffness in her body language, the way she moved told him that she was sensing danger.

"Why would you want to know about that?" she demanded, shooting looks over to a pair of hulking Sherpa's over by the fire. At her movement, they both stood up, danger exuding from their presence.

"Relax," Looker said, calmly removing his ID card from the pocket of his pants and sliding it across the bar. "The name's Looker, Jacques Looker. I'm just looking into the attack on Candice Suzana."

She picked up the leather badge case from the bar, running her eyes over it.

"So, you just want to question Ms. Senior?"

"Huh?"

"Candice."

The realisation dawning on him, Looker nodded.

"You know where I can find her?"

The leather badge came sliding back across the bar to him. Her eyes looked him up and down, trying to judge whether or not he could be trusted.

"She's upstairs," the girl replied, slowly deciding to trust him. "I'll take you up there, if you want."

At last, an invitation that he couldn't turn down.

"That is something that sounds fantastic," he said. "Thank you."

Without hesitating, she lifted up the flap in the middle of the bar top, allowing him in.

* * *

The interior of the Abomasnow Arms confirmed to Looker that somebody lived here, behind the main customer service area. The wall next to the steps leading to the second floor was filled with pictures of the red head and various people who he assumed to be her family.

"I'm Zoey by the way," she said, shooting a glance over to him. "Zoey Nozomi. My family owns this place. Ms. Senior is a friend of mine, so after what happened…"

She tailed off for a moment, gulping at what she was saying. Before finally speaking up again, stronger than ever.

"After she was attacked in her home, I said that she could stay here."

"Well, that would appear to be very generous of you," Looker said, the two of them reaching the top of the stairs, Zoey turning left as they did so.

"Hey, she's my friend," Zoey pointed out, looking over to the first white door on the right. "She's through there. Try not to upset her. Otherwise, I'll hunt you down and…"

Suppressing the urge to tell her to get a grip with herself, Looker instead thanked her, sharply rapping his knuckles against the wooden surface of the door.

"Ms Suzana!" he called, speaking up. "Can I talk to you?"

For a moment, there was no answer.

"Ms Senior," Zoey shouted, instantly coming back over to the door. "It's okay."

Still nothing happened for a few moments, before the strong feminine voice rang out from behind the door.

"Come on in."

* * *

"Sorry about that," Candice said, as Looker walked into the room. He could see that the raven haired gym leader was blushing slightly. "I had to…"

"Doesn't matter," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. In the seemingly simple act of dismissing the thoughts, making it seem like it didn't matter, what he was actually doing was looking her up and down, running an appraising eye over her. Her milky white skin upon her face wasn't marked at all, causing him to think that she wasn't as badly hurt as Zoey had made out in the hallway. In fact, the room was a simple yet cosy place, a bed with royal red covers, an electric heater in the corner, added to a table, two chairs and a mirror. There was also a wardrobe, the door hanging half open The walls were painted a simple white, the carpet the same colour as the covers on the bed.

"Who are you?" she asked, sitting down on the bed, keeping her eyes upon him.

Without hesitating, Looker brought out his ID showing it to her.

"Ms Suzuna, I'm Agent Jacques Looker with the International Police," he said, keeping the eye contact with her as he spoke. "The Sinnoh Pokemon league asked me to come up here and check things out."

Although a momentarily confused expression passed across her face, it was quickly replaced with a sharp smile of gratitude.

"Thank you, Agent Looker," she said, speaking slowly. As if she couldn't quite understand the implications behind his words. "Although, I fear you are wasting your time. It may just have been a random event, nothing sinister about it at all."

"Yet, I don't particularly want to take that chance," Looker replied. "And, I don't think you should either."He sighed.

"Plus, I'm in here over Christmas. Might as well investigate this as thoroughly as possible."

Again Looker sighed, before sitting down on one of the chairs across from her.

"So…" he said, lightly. "I'm just going to ask you a series of questions, see what I can find."

"Okay."

"Right then," Looker replied, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees. "Do you have any idea who might want to hurt you, anyone who might wish you harm?"

"Well, nobody comes to mind," Candice replied, looking confused. "I mean, I try not to make enemies. For obvious reasons."

"No embittered ex-boyfriends?"

"None," she answered.

For the next twenty minutes, she sat there patiently answering every single question that he threw at her. And, with every single answer, Looker became more frustrated. No matter what he thought, what he asked, there was nobody that would seem to have a motive enough to harm her.

Finally, at his wits end, the International Police agent sat up and wiped his face clear of perspiration. He had been unwittingly sat close to the electric heater, the effects now clearly showing upon him.

"Well, I'm stumped," he said, shaking his head. "I honestly can say that I have no idea who would want to attack you."

"That's… I don't know if that's good or bad," she said, thoughtfully. "On the one hand, you're stumped. Yet, on the other hand, if there's nobody out there…"

Looker nodded.

"It's a mystery," he said, leaning his body back into the chair. "I shall have to muse on this for a while before making my next move. But, do not fear, Ms Suzuna. I shall be getting to the bottom of this strange happening.""Glad to hear it."

Getting to his feet, Looker held out a hand to her, feeling the soft skin against his own palm. Keeping an emotionless expression upon his face, he shook her hand, watching her remain sat down on the bed.

"Have faith in me," Looker said, finally managing a grin. "I've solved far stranger crimes in the past. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to report in to my HQ. I'll find somewhere to stay in the town for the night or so, but…"

The International Police agent reached down into his pocket, handing out a card.

"… If you need to get in touch with me, my cell phone number is on there."

She nodded, taking the white piece of cardboard from him, placing it down on the bedside table.

"Well, farewell, Mister Looker," she said, smiling. "Good luck."

"I don't need luck."

Turning away to go, pushing the bedroom door open, Looker didn't shoot a glance over to the window, not interested in what he could have seen from the darkened area. Already, on the 23rd of December, the sun had long since set.

Yet, had he done that, he might have seen something out there, stood on the fire escape. A glint of silver in the night sky.

* * *

"What do you have?" DeSantos asked, registered Looker's caller ID upon her office phone. Still at the office, she had long since given up any hope of going home, the snows outside rendering the roads of Jubilife City gridlocked. Instead, she had made the decision to bunk down at the office for the night, a hot cup of coffee steaming on the desk in front of her.

"Well, I've just spoken to Ms. Suzuna," Looker said, stretching his arms out. Already, the cold was getting to his joints, requiring that he move them around as much as possible.

At the other end of the corridor, Zoey paced around listlessly. She had begrudgingly allowed him to use the phone in the red and white papered walls within the hallway which Candice's room was placed. Yet, the young redhead had made the decision not to leave him alone up here, her eyes looking over to him, narrowed in annoyance.

Turning away from her, not wanting her to hear what he was saying, Looker continued to speak.

"After talking to her, I can't decide whether it was just a random thing," he said, evasively. He wasn't willing to voice too many of the straggled ideas rushing around within his mind, not wanting to commit to a theory that might prove to be incorrect. One part of his International Police training had been to not focus on one single path to the truth, but rather to examine all possibilities to gain a larger perspective of the task at hand. "But, I do feel like something is wrong here. Something I can't quite pin down."

Taking a deep breath, hearing Zoey cough behind him, Looker spoke up, intent on finishing the conversation as quickly as possible.

"Anyway, I'll keep looking around, and if I get something that I need checking out then, I'll be in touch."

"Okay, fine," DeSantos replied, leaning back into her chair, resting one of her feet up onto the desk. "I'll expect to hear from you at some point."

"Au revoir, Rebecca," Looker said, grinning as he hung up the receiver to turn back to Zoey, a relieved look peppered across her features. "Well, before I hit the road, I'm sure I could manage a…"

Without warning, the sound of smashing glass burst out from within Candice's room, followed by a sharp scream of outrage and surprise.

Already in motion, heading for the door, Looker couldn't help but finish the sentence.

"Hold that thought."

* * *

As he burst through the door, his foot connecting with the wooden frame to smash it open, the agent could see a hulking figure stood in the room, trying to get at Candice. From behind, all he could see was that he was well over six feet tall, with a straggly black afro style haircut, the hair slightly thinned in places.

Not hesitating, Looker lunged towards the attacker, clamping his hand down onto his shoulder. Dragging the large figure around to face him, barely registering that he was at least three inches taller than Looker himself was, the agent's other hand came up, clenched into a fist to go for the chin…

Only for him to yelp moments later, the pain from the impact intensely unbearable.

As the ugly figure grinned at him, seemingly amused at the way Looker was clutching at his wounded hand, the lips slipped open to reveal a set of shining silver teeth. The small black eyes narrowed down to him, the two most drawing parts of the face.

"I'll never forget that smile," Looker hissed, backing away. He couldn't help but shudder at the sight of the monster in front of him, his mind trying to work away at some chance of surviving this. Frantically, he tried to massage some feeling back into his aching hand, his eyes scanning the room for something to hit the Ursaring-like figure with.

Again, the grin widened dramatically, short barks of laughter rippling out as the figure went for him, the large arms grabbing out for his head, the fingers flexing.

Not wanting to think about what they could do to him if they had the chance, Looker threw himself back away from the oncoming blow, his hands going for one of the chairs, possibly the one that he had sat down on to interview Candice earlier.

Gripping it up by the back, Looker swung out with the heavy item against his opponent, trying to land the attack.

Hearing a grunt from the hulking behemoth, as it cracked against his stomach, the next sensation he felt was the item being ripped from his grasp like it only weighed a few pounds, watching it being hurled against the wall with a thundering crack.

Mentally sighing, Looker lunged in with both hands, thumping against the figure's stomach, striking the area that he had whacked with the chair moments earlier.

The figure growled in pain, before bringing up his own arms, pushing Looker back away from him, forcing him against the wall. With the agent momentarily stunned, he struck out, the powerful hands going for the throat.

Both of them knew, in that moment, that if the ten strong fingers wrapped around his throat, there would be only one outcome. Looker wouldn't have a chance of prising them free, the metal toothed figure readily able to crush the life from him without a second thought.

But, he didn't.

From out of nowhere, the electric heater came hurtling through the air, crashing down into the small of his back. The behemoth's arms shot up into the air, his body lowering a fraction. Clearly in pain, he rounded onto Candice, her arms still in the throwing position.

In this momentary distraction, Looker managed to recover his composure, diving forward towards the murderous man, one hand slipping down into his pocket, the smallest traces of an idea burned into his head.

Too late, he turned back to see the oncoming International Police agent. Too late to hold out a hand to stop him.

And, Looker jammed the Car Key into his side, the giant going down to one knee at the shock bursting through his system.

Not wanting to take any chances with how he might recover from the shock, Looker brought the gadget up again, pushing the button down into the plastic. Again, he could see the muscles underneath the dirty white shirt spasm, one of the arms flailing around wildly.

Enough to send him down off his feet, throwing him to the ground, the keys bouncing away across the carpet.

And, as Looker recovered from the effects of the attack, he could see the giant rise to his feet, turning around to face the grounded International Police agent. Both his hands came up above his head, the sadistic grin running across his mouth. Even from below, Looker could see the silvery glint of the teeth against the light. The two large hands clenched into even larger fists, ready to be brought down into his stomach, or worse, his head.

Without even thinking, the International Police agent threw his legs out above him, the feet crunching into his opponent's groin.

That did the trick.

Watching the giant double over in pain, short harsh gasps of agony escaping from between his lips, Looker jumped to his feet, lowered his body into a tackle before charging, twisting his body into the desired direction.

As he had expected, it was reminiscent of the feeling of ramming his shoulder against a brick wall, but the wounded giant gave way under his barge, Looker pushing him back…

And, his judgment perfect, the two of them crashed through the already broken window, the remnants of shattered glass digging into them as they crashed into the metal fire escape.

With Looker better off after the collision, shrugging off the pain he felt from the shards of glass digging down into his back. Jumping to his feet again, he threw his arms out to grab the heavy giant up by the shirt. Grunting with the effort from the exertion, he finally managed it on the third try, hurling him against the railings.

For a moment, the behemoth figure held there, tottering on uneasy feet. Not taking any chances, Looker brought back his doubled fist, ready to strike if need be.

But, there was no need. Entirely unaided, the figure, intent on killing Candice, staggered back over the railings, vanishing from view instantly.

Moments later, the sound of the heavy body cracking down into the snow was heard.

Taking several deep and desperate gulps of air, Looker leaned down against the very same railings, the pain from his injuries suddenly rushing up to the surface of his being. Several feet down below him, he could see the prone figure of his opponent laid down in the white snow, blood pooling out around him.

He had no idea how much time passed before he sensed Candice next to him.

"Is he dead?" she asked, her eyes looking at him. At his wounds, the shards of glass sticking from his back.

Feeling sick, he could only gasp out an answer.

"I certainly hope so."

* * *

For the few moments that followed, neither of them said anything. Nothing to say.

Then, inexplicably surprising him, the Snowpoint gym leader stepped over, standing up onto her tiptoes to brush her lips against his cheek.

His first reaction was one of bewildered amusement, not having seen it coming.

"So, what was that for?"

As she turned away to head back into the room, crooking her index finger to gesture for him to join her, her reply was simple.

"For saving my life."

Despite his minor injuries, Looker couldn't help but grin weakly.

"All part of the job," he said, turning to follow her back into the warmth of The Abomasnow Arms.

* * *

"Ouch!"

The hiss came from within his mouth, feeling the sharp sensation of Candice digging the shards from his back. After coming back into the room, at her insistence, he had laid down onto the bed while she dug the flecks of glass from where they had penetrated his skin. His discarded shirt lay in the corner, bloody tears all over the back. On the table next to him, a bottle of White Raichu Vodka, courtesy of Zoey downstairs was opened up. Some of it had been used for disinfectant, some of it had been swallowed by Looker while he recovered from his injuries. Already, he was starting to feel more like he did normally, the sharp burn rushing through him, forcing away the pain of his relatively minor injuries.

"At least they didn't dig deep," she said, sagely. "Just flesh wounds."

"That's not at all reassuring," Looker said, annoyed.

He was about to reply with more sarcasm, when his cell phone buzzed.

Instantly grabbing it up to answer, he could hear the clear voice of DeSantos on the other end of the line. The first thing he had done after the confrontation was to inform his boss, hoping for some information on the unique killer that he had just retired.

"Well, you've really struck gold this time, Jacques," she said.

Knowing that it was never a good thing when she called him by his first name, Looker took a deep breath, the air rushing between his teeth as Candice yanked another shard of glass from his back.

"Go on."

"Well, when you told me about the metal teeth, I instantly found the file. His name was Deon Dzekin. AKA Iron Fang. We have records of him going back over the last ten years. Over thirty confirmed kills, but we suspect that it could be more. Preferred method of execution was to crush the throat with his metal teeth."

DeSantos took a deep breath, almost as if she was savouring her last bit of information.

"And, here's the choker. He's long been suspected to be the top hit man for the Black Seviper."The revelation struck Looker hard and fast. He hadn't seen that coming.

* * *

The Black Seviper. A group dedicated to causing as much chaos within the four regions as possible. At least seven confirmed terrorist attacks over the last four years since their inception. Despite all the best attempts of law enforcement throughout the world, the leaders remained unknown. Any time anyone got close to laying hands on them, they would vanish without a trace. A group of seemingly limitless financial power, influence and dedication to their goals.

From bombings to extortion, nothing seemed to be beyond them.

"Damn," Looker muttered. "So, is that confirmed. How sure are we?"

"Pretty sure. Whatever happens, it would appear that the Black Seviper might be behind the attack on Ms Suzuna. Two attempts on her life would appear to be more than coincidence."

Feeling another small shard rip from out of his back, Looker craned his head around to look at the raven haired gym leader.

"Given the scope of my previous line of questioning, it's more feasible than checking into her background. I'll take a look around, see what I can find."

"Okay, Jacques," she said, sounding worried about him. "But, if you can help it, don't engage the Black Seviper in combat. Just observe from afar. Let them make the first move."

"Well, I was just nearly killed by one of their hit men," Looker replied, casually. "I'd say that amounts of open war."

* * *

After hanging up, Looker had managed to wriggle back into his shirt, before sitting Candice down again and asking her more questions.

"So, have you noticed anything unusual around Snowpoint City lately?" he asked, taking another drink from the bottle of Vodka. Making a mental note, he decided that it would be his last one, at least until the mission was over.

For a moment, Candice hesitated. And then, she spoke up.

"Well, there was something about a fortnight ago," she said.

"Go on."

"It happened at Lake Acuity," Candice replied, struggling to remember the details. "Apparently, something was happening there. A company was planning to do some building on there. Yet, a group of protesters, not from around here picketed around the area, not letting anyone at all. For a week, nobody got into that area. Except…"

In that moment, Looker's mind flashed back to something. Memories of how that ploy had been tried before, Team Galactic members posing as environment lovers to stop people from entering Lake Valor. All so that they could do something there.

"… I got in there."

Candice's words shocked him out of his thoughts.

"Excuse me," he said, completely shocked by what she had said.

"My Sneasel got away, wandered in there," she explained. "I went in there to get her back. And…"

Her face whitened.

"Now I remember," she said. "There was something there on the lake. These people were trying to unload something down into the lake. Some sort of machine. I watched them for a while, before leaving."

"What sort of machine?"

"It looked like a huge drill. The base of it was sort of shaped like a Dugtrio below the drill piece. It didn't seem to be dangerous, so I didn't tell anyone about it. I thought I'd got out of it with nobody noticing. But…"

"Apparently not," Looker said, putting it together. It all made sense. She had seen something that she hadn't meant to around there. Now, they realised that and had decided to make sure that she stayed silent. But, that wasn't the biggest concern he held at the moment. He had an idea what the drill might have been. But, he wasn't willing to confirm the facts to DeSantos until he knew for certain. If it was what he thought it was, then he needed to go and try to find that out.

"Candice," he said, looking over to her with interest. "Is there anywhere in Snowpoint City where I can rent a scuba tank and a wetsuit?"

She nodded.

"Why, what are you planning?"

"A little underwater excursion," he replied. "Can you direct me over to Lake Acuity afterwards, and show me where this happened on the lake?"

The gym leader looked bemused at his request.

"Have you ever gone swimming in that lake during winter?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's minus eighteen degrees in there. Plus, it's darker than heck down there. Easy to get lost."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm coming with you," she replied. "Given that those people might be trying to kill me, I've got a score to settle with them."

"Okay."

* * *

"You ever done much diving before?" she asked, looking over to him as the two of them stood on the deck of the boat in the middle of the lake. Already clad in their rubber wet suits, the heavy scuba tanks on their backs. The face masks were down on the deck, both of them ready to go down under the freezing water. Looker had strapped a diving knife down to his ankle, just in case.

"Couple of times," Looker replied. "Not much."

She grinned.

"I've said it before, it's going to be cold down there."

"I'm not worried about the temperature."

"Well, you should be," she continued. "These wet suits won't keep you completely warm. And, do you really need that?"

Her eyes were over to the small waterproof bag that was at Looker's feet.

"Just in case," he replied. "If we do end up coming out somewhere…"

"Don't hold your breath," Candice told him. "We'll probably find nothing down there except the bottom of the lake."

"Then, why are you here?" he asked, looking over to her. "Other than to keep me company."Shaking her head, Candice looked down at the water.

"Because, you might be right."

From the wheelhouse, one of Candice's students from the gym at the controls of the boat, shouted down.

"Okay, you might as well get down there. I'll hang here until you get back."

"Thanks, Horace."

Candice looked over to him, the two of them going down for their face masks and mouth pieces. Rapidly, they began to slip the items down into place, the Snowpoint gym leader picking up an underwater flashlight to use for guidance.

Then, Candice went down over the side, leaving Looker alone for a moment. He could see her head bobbing in the water for a moment, her free hand waving to him. Then, she was gone under the surface, the last trace he saw of her being the kick of her feet as she vanished down into the dark depths.

"This can go to hell," he muttered, before sliding in after her. Before he did, his hand swept over to the small bag containing his equipment, grabbing it up. Tying it to the belt of lead weights around his waist, he prepared to face the depths of the frigid water.

* * *

The sharp strength of the cold water instantly struck him. Any pretence of fatigue was washed away by the low temperature easily. Actually, he thought as he began to swim after Candice, it was pretty invigorating. There wasn't much to be seen throughout the dark waters. He could observe a Seaking gracefully sweeping its way through the depths, alone and impassive. Twisting his body away towards the faint light up ahead, he began to propel himself after Candice.

* * *

Eventually, he caught up with her, seeing that she was already examining a deep crater down into the depths of the lake bottom.

Damn, he thought as he swam out over the top of it to try and see what was down the centre of the pit. All his eyes could register was a long swathe of darkness, no telling how deep it travelled.

Gesturing down to it, he looked over to his companion. She half shook her head, clearly not willing to travel down into the abyss.

Shrugging it off, he kicked his legs down, ready to streak down into the pit. No matter what, he had to check it out. He partly saw Candice's eyes widen in worry as he entered the rim…

And instantly knew why as the undercurrent got a hold of him, dragging him down into it fully.

Flailing out with his arms, uselessly, he felt something grab a hold of his hand. Squeezing hard, the heavy sensation still there even as he was dragged down through the wide tunnel. In the shake-up, he couldn't help but feel relieved at the width of the tunnel. He wouldn't have looked forward to the idea of possibly being crushed against the side of the tunnel by his air tank. It was already taking all of his concentration just to keep the mouthpiece within the grasp of his teeth. Still, he felt the weight against his hand, finally slipping his eyes over to see what it was.

Realising that Candice had grabbed hold of his hand in a vain attempt to try and keep him out of the tunnel, he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty at the way he had inadvertently dragged her down with him. An annoyed expression was visible down on her face, even amidst the concentration as she was dragged after him, her legs weakly kicking.

The water was getting slightly warmer. Not wanting to contemplate what that meant, he instead reached out to pull Candice close to him. At first, she resisted, trying to jerk herself away from his grasp. But, the realisation finally dawned on her as it occurred what he was trying to do. And, she accepted his embrace, knowing that if they were separated at any point, then there was a good chance that one of them might die. At least together, they had a chance.

Finally, just as soon as the rush through the tunnel had started, it ended.

* * *

The two heads broke the surface, followed shortly by the sound of mouthpieces being spat out.

"You moron!" Candice shouted, pulling away from him. "There was a reason why I wasn't willing to go down there."

Scanning around the area that they had found themselves in, Looker only offered a stream of desperate apologies, knowing that he had put both of them in very real danger. His eagerness to get this thing solved had endangered both of them, leaving them in this cavern.

Running his eyes over the features, he could briefly make out a platform over to their right, a large metal door behind it.

"Over there," he said, starting to swim for it.

Reluctantly, and still muttering curses under her breath, Candice started to follow him over there.

* * *

Stripped of the oxygen tanks, leaving them behind at the platform, Looker started to head through the ice covered corridors, Candice still following him.

"You have any idea where we are?" he asked, looking over to where she was. "You know this area better than anyone else here."

She shrugged.

"I was all mixed up when we got caught in the undercurrent. There were several twists and turns in there. We could currently be under Mount Coronet. Or, Snowpoint City. Could be under the connecting road between the mountain and the city. Or, we could be underneath the Snowpoint Temple."

As she finished speaking, Looker heard voices away to the left, instantly pulling her back out of view.

"Jeez, you actually think that Baraja will pull this off?"

"I don't know, but if he does, I wouldn't want to be down below."

Craning his neck around to look to Candice, Looker mused on the options available. Having her along made it a problem. Had it just been him, he could have slipped away from it all. But, he was a trained agent of the International Police. She wasn't. He wasn't doubting what she could do, but…

Screw this, he thought, going with a plan of action. Having peered around the corner, he could see that they were blocking the only exit out of the ice covered corridor. Which forced his hand.

Leaning over to Candice, he began to whisper down into her ear.

"Listen to me," he whispered. "I'm going to have to take care of them in order for us to get out of here."

She nodded, stepping away from him.

Unperturbed by her indifference, Looker went for the knife strapped down to his ankle, heading out into the corridor.

* * *

The two guards didn't know what hit them.

Looker's knife came up without warning, instantly slitting the throat of the first guard. With him already falling down to the ground, the International Police agent had gone for the second guard, forcing him up against the wall. The knife was against his throat.

"Who are you?" Looker hissed, the tip of the knife already straight into the skin. One slightest movement, and he would be wiping the blood from his front.

"Piss off," the guard spat. "I ain't telling you nothing."

"You might want to reevaluate that position," Looker hissed, angrily. "Or, I'll slit your throat."

"Go ahead. You won't get your information then."

The threat wasn't as deadly as it sounded. It was an empty ploy to try and convince Looker otherwise.

"Then again," Looker replied, coldly. "I always did like to walk straight into the unknown. So, it makes no difference to me whether you talk or not. What might interest you is how painful it is."

The guard didn't say anything. From a single glance, Looker could work out that nothing bar full on torture would convince him to talk. And, he didn't have the time for that.

Instead, his free hand came up, the fist smashing the guards nose as he slumped down to the ground. He was out cold by the time he hit the icy floor.

"That necessary?" Candice asked, joining him by the door. She was doing her level best to ignore the dead guard on the ground at her feet.

"That was necessary," Looker confirmed, as he went for the door. His hand twisted away at the handle, finding that it was locked.

Shaking his head, he went down to the bag at his waist, digging out the Car Keys that Sykes had given him. That he had retrieved after Iron Fang's attack from Candice's room.

Opening up the lock pick section of the keys, he rapidly found the right one he needed. It was only a simple lock, meaning that it was within the range of options he had down to his disposal. Apparently constructing doors with complex locks within an ice tunnel underneath the northern part of Sinnoh wasn't high on their agenda.

Smirking slightly at that thought, he pushed it open and stepped out through it, Candice following him.

* * *

But this, he thought with shock at the sight befalling him on the other side of the door, apparently was.

A large cavern, hewn out of ice, met his eyes. There was just another four men in the room, three of them wearing the same uniform as the two outside. The other was wearing a red ski jacket and a pair of blue sweat pants. A yellow scarf was flung around his neck. He could see a pair of snow mobiles in the corner next to another ice tunnel. And, in the middle of the room, the Dugtrio Inductor machine, stolen nearly three months earlier. Just as he had suspected, when Candice had mentioned a description of it.

Without seeing what was in front of them, Candice stumbled through the door, letting it slam shut behind her.

Looker almost swore as the sound instantly attracted the attention of everyone else in the room. Eyes ran over to him, the guards instantly alerted to their presence.

"Oh damn," Candice muttered, realising what she had just done.

"Now, we're even," Looker replied, grimly thinking back to the events that had lead to them being down here. The undercurrent at the bottom of Lake Acuity. Not his finest moment. But, there was no point in crying over spilt milk.

As the guards came over to seize the two of them, under the red jacketed man, he couldn't help but feel sick at the way it had turned out.

"So, why are you here?"

"Went for a swim," Looker replied, as casually as he could manage under the circumstances. The four guards surrounding him didn't look amused at the quip. His knife had long since been taken away from him, now pocketed

Neither did the red coat.

"Punch him," he said, his voice almost as cold as the air filling the cavern.

Not able to tighten the muscles in his stomach in time, Looker felt the full force of the fist crack into his abdomen, doubling him over in agony.

"Not so full of laughter now, are you?" Red Coat remarked.

"Laughter is the best medicine," Looker gasped, straightening himself up.

"Well, you'll be needing plenty of laughter with what we have planned."

Red Coat looked around to the Inducer, smiling.

"What do you have planned?" Candice asked.

"Don't waste your breath," Looker answered, shaking his head. "The Black Seviper are all in for heinous crimes. Whatever it is, it'll be something disgusting."

Looking around, Red Coat couldn't help but smile.

"We're just trying to give the world a Christmas that they'll remember," he smirked. "But, not in a good way."

"Told you," Looker muttered, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want with the Dugtrio Inducer?"

"The name is Baraja," he replied, ignoring Lance. "Not that it is important to you, but I would find it a common courtesy to tell you. Since you won't live to tell anyone else outside this chamber it. And, to answer your question, our scientists at the Black Seviper have been working away to modify this… Machine."

"Why?"

Baraja's eyes flashed with anger at the interruption. Again, the fist of the closest guard sprang out to crack into his stomach. Again, Looker took the blow, groaning in pain.

"We will be sending the machine down as far as it will go," Baraja replied, shrugging dismissively. "Then, it will be activated as powerful as it possibly can be. Which, thanks to our modifications, will be devastating. All of the area around Snowpoint City will be affected badly. The attack will cause a huge avalanche, all of the snows coming crashing down into the cities at the base of Mount Coronet. Hearthome and Eterna. Possibly even Oreburgh. Enough to bring down the entire region to a grinding halt. And when Black Seviper claim the credit for the attack, detailing how we did it, then the entire world will fear us even more."

"So, you're going to commit genocide just for shock tactics?" Looker said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable."

"I don't want your opinion on the way we do things," Baraja replied, coldly. "You won't be around to see the outcome. Neither will she."

The words stung Looker like a nest of Combee. Stung him into thinking of a plan of action.

"Well," he said. His words were thoughtful in their design, prying and probing to try and get a reaction. "That is quite an interesting plan. Well conceived in its design. I suppose I have to commend the Black Seviper for that. Although, there is one small thing that would be bugging me about the whole thing."

"And, what would that be?" Baraja asked.

It was a desperate gamble.

"Which lunatic asylum did they pluck you from?"

In that moment, Baraja's face turned a deathly shade of purple, the insult ramming itself straight home.

Looker saw the fist come towards him, feeling the impact smash down against his cheek. Groaning, he felt the impact jar against his teeth, loosening a few of them towards the back.

"That was smart," Candice muttered, shaking her head in his direction. Even though the side of his mouth was on fire, he tried to shoot her a grin.

"I see the esteemed Ms. Suzuna also agrees with my sentiments," Baraja commented, lazily. "Pity as though it may be."

He looked to his guards, his eyes flashing with malice.

"Kill them both."

With those words, he turned tail and started to walk towards the Dugtrio Inducer.

* * *

Looker saw one of the guards remove a knife from within his jacket, the figure starting to move towards him.

Gasping for breath, the side of his face still incredibly sore, the International Police agent knew that he would only get one chance at this. He needed to await just the right moment. To convince them that he was in more pain than he actually was.

The guard was above him, the knife flashing down towards his throat.

And, grunted in surprise, as Looker went for the weapon. For a moment, the two of them struggled over the weapon, each trying to gain the advantage in snatching it.

Even through his pain fogged brain, Looker managed to pull the coup off, letting go off the weapon. His opponent unsteady on the icy ground, instantly slid forward, growling in surprise.

In his left hand, Looker went for the knife, taking it from the distracted guard. With his right hand, he punched him hard in the chin, sending him down to the ground. He could hear the skull crack against the floor below, knowing that he wouldn't be any further trouble.

Having watched the struggle with interest, the other two guards moved into action, charging towards the International Police agent.

Spinning round to greet them, Looker was instantly privy to the sight of one crumpling down to the ground, groaning in pain. Candice withdrew her leg, shooting him a smile.

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Looker stepped backward, avoiding the thrown punch from the only remaining guard. His foot came up, snapping into the kneecap of his opponent. He went down, hard. Looker's fist crashed into his face, putting him down completely.

Now focusing on Baraja, the International Police agent brought back the knife in his arm, sending it hurling towards the Black Seviper agent as he tried to flee.

A clang echoed out, the blade crashing against the side of the metallic machine. It had been a few inches away from spearing Baraja in the shoulder, leaving Looker cursing as he started to run after him.

* * *

He arrived just too late, the terrorist just having climbed through the cockpit of the machine. With it sealed tightly shut, there was no way for him to get inside after his opponent. Banging his fist on the thing in defeat, his mind raced to try and find another solution.

"Jacques!"

Candice's call attracted his attention, his head craning around to see what she wanted. Her hand was pointed at the engines, gesturing wildly.

As he watched her do so, the idea struck him like a Togekiss' Sky Attack, the gist of what she was implying enough to tell him.

Fishing down into the bag, still at his waist, Looker brought up the Car Keys that Sykes had given him. How long ago did that seem right now.

Moving over toward the engines, the machines below the dark brown metallic surface already starting to hum, he clipped it against the Inducer feeling the magnet within the item take effect. Checking it was secured tightly, he pushed down the buttons, arming it.

Not wasting any time, Looker turned and started to run.

* * *

Candice was already on a snow mobile, revving the engine to start it up. A welcome sight for the International Police agent, knowing that the explosive within the keys could cause a cave in. At the range he had placed it, there was no way that the engines would survive the impact of the explosion.

"Come on!" she shouted, her heart racing with fear as she watched him sprint over to where she was. She could feel the back of the machine dip as he jumped on board.

Already in motion as he landed, the snow mobile let out a whine before hurtling away towards the exit, the runners skidding across the ice.

Barely through the entrance to the tunnel they assumed lead to the exit, the two of them were greeted with the thick booming sound of the explosive within Looker's Car Keys wreaking its havoc onto the Dugtrio Inducer machine.

Shooting a glance back to where it had been parked, Looker saw the machine fly up off the ground crashing into a sheer side of the ice cavern. Cracks ran up around it, rumblings starting to bellow out as they did so. Small flakes of snow and ice began to crumple down from the ceiling.

As they vanished through the tunnel, away from the view of the Dugtrio Inducer, Looker could have sworn that he had seen Baraja banging on the cockpit hatch, trapped in the machine.

* * *

And then, it all started to come down around them.

* * *

"Faster!" Looker shouted, his voice echoing around the disintegrating tunnel, the tone filled with desperation. He didn't want to die down here, not after what he and Candice had just managed to do. They had undoubtedly saved millions of lives around Sinnoh, none of the people below knowing how close they had been to death.

"I'm going as…" Candice started to say, gritting her teeth as she tried to keep control of the machine. "… Fast as I can."

She jerked the vehicle away to the side, avoiding a large clump of fallen rock that had dropped from the ceiling. Snow glistened upon the side of it, the shades of grey having been seen around the surface of it.

Swerving to evade another, Looker had to throw his arms around her, nearly having been thrown from the seat at her series of sudden evasive manoeuvres.

"We're almost there!" she yelled, her foot pressing the accelerator down against the ground. Small shards of light could be seen away in the distance, the exit to the tunnel near. Just another final push and they would be home and dry…

Only for a huge chunk of snow to crash down in front of them and the exit, barely ten metres away.

"Let it go!" Looker roared, pulling her back away from the machine. Throwing himself, and by extension her, back out of the seat he let out a groan as his previously lacerated back smashed down into the frozen ground floor. Groaning again as he felt Candice land on his ribs, the full extent of her not inconsiderable weight forcing the breath from him.

The next sensation he felt was the sound of the snow mobile crunch through the blocked exit, screeching into the cold empty air before vanishing from view.

Not able to rest yet, Looker managed to drag himself to his feet, helping Candice back up.

"We need to get going," he said, taking her hand in his. Not hesitating, the two of them ran for their lives, sprinting over towards the newly opened exit.

* * *

The two unlikely allies, throwing themselves out of the collapsing ice palace, finally came to a halt on the snow covered ground. Rolling to an instant stop, Looker couldn't help but groan at his injuries, the impact from the landing aggravating them.

"Jacques!" Candice said, instantly jumping over from her prone position to see if he was okay.

"I'm fine," Looker replied, sitting up. "Just landed awkwardly."

Brushing his thermal wet suit free of snow, he took several deep breaths, looking over to where they had come from.

"You know where we are?" he asked, glancing over to the suddenly fatigued looking gym leader.

She nodded.

"Hill outside Snowpoint," Candice said, shrugging her shoulders. Reaching a hand up, she subconsciously straightened out her frozen hair. "Never really been here."

His eyes raking over to the small tunnel they had emerged from, Looker realised that the whole thing was coming down in spades, the roaring sounds of shattered ice screeching down upon more ice. The tunnel had vanished long since, the hill now at least ten feet shorter than it had been previously.

"Rest in peace, Baraja," Looker said, darkly.

At his words, Candice couldn't help but smile weakly. For a moment, she held the expression before it evolved into slight laughter, the mirth finally became much more expressive.

"So much for me not thinking anything was going on," she said, her shoulders shaking with mirth. "I got that wrong."

Looker nodded, not saying anything. Sometimes, completing a job like this was its own reward. He didn't look for praise, just instead choosing to do what was right. Always had been, always would be.

"Does this happen to you often," Candice continued, looking over to the International Police agent, sliding her body across the snow to get closer to him.

"Any time, any place," Looker replied, turning to look her in the eyes. "All in a days work."

Again without warning, she leaned over to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she did so. In that moment, as her lips met his, Looker returned the gesture.

Finally, she broke away, smiling over to him.

"Saving your life?" he asked, a half grin now in the corner of his mouth.

"Meh, who needs an excuse," she replied, returning back over to the embrace.

This time, the moment lasted longer, a good thirty seconds. Candice rolled over onto her back, Looker's lips still locked against hers as he came on top.

"And, would this be part of your job description?" she gasped, breaking away for air.

"Only sometimes," he admitted, still not able to help smiling.

For the third time of their passionate moments, a voice rang out across the horizon.

"Ms Suzuna! Mr. Looker!"

Subconsciously suppressing a groan as one, the two of them broke away, Looker rolling onto his back to see what was going on.

Striding up out of the dropping snow, a group of people, all different in gender and appearance approached them. Strangely enough, all of them were riding Rapidash, the flames acting as a beacon in the darkness.

"Oh wow," Candice said, sitting up. "It's the Snowpoint Rescue Service."

* * *

"That's an incredible story," Zoey replied, looking over to Candice, the two of them sat in a different bedroom within The Abomasnow Arms. "So, he was wanting to destroy four major cities within Sinnoh?"

Candice nodded. Since getting back with the Rescue Service, she had changed into a blue and white satin robe while talking to her friend.

"And Jacques managed to stop him," she said, her eyes shining with admiration. "I was shocked when I saw him in action. He's saved my life at least three times in the last four hours. I owe him so much."

"My ears are burning."

The two women glancing up, they saw Looker come into the room, putting his cell phone away.

Instantly, Zoey stood up to smile at him.

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Looker," she said, still smiling. "You've done Snowpoint City a great service. In fact, all of Sinnoh owes you a debt of gratitude."

"I wasn't alone," Looker pointed out, his eyes running over to Candice. "Your friend helped out a lot."

Throwing her a weak grin, he began to speak up again.

"I was wondering if you could possibly put me a bottle of White Raichu Vodka on ice," he requested. "I could do with some in a while."

Almost surprising herself, Zoey bowed to him before turning away to leave.

"Consider it done," she said, heading out of the room. "I think I'm probably needed downstairs anyway."

Looker watched the door shut behind her, before going over to sit down on the bed next to Candice. As he did so, she reached out to place a hand on his.

"Thanks again for everything," she said, smiling at him as she spoke. "Thanks for cancelling your Christmas to come up here and do this."

He began to speak up, ready to tell her that it was his job and therefore no trouble.

But, she didn't let him get the words in, just continuing to speak.

"You saved my life so many times."

He nodded, noticing how close she was in leaning towards him. Strands of her hair brushing against his face, her eyes focused heavily on his.

"All part of the job," he replied, leaning in to kiss her. In the warmth of the room, it became so much more than it had been down in the snow.

In that moment, the passion got to them, the two mismatched pair of partners now firmly focused on one thing.

"Happy Christmas, Jacques," Candice gasped, breaking out of the passionate clinch.

"Likewise," he muttered, his mind fully focused on other matters close at hand.

* * *

**Author's Notes.**

**Merry Christmas and a happy new year.**

**Hope you enjoyed it.**


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